Image courtesy of New Brunswick Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture

Your Adventure Awaits

Atlantic Canada's next adventure destination.

TRADE DEVELOPMENT

The Organization

New Brunswick Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture

THE SITUATION

New Brunswick, one of Canada’s Atlantic provinces, has always been well-known for their motorcoach and family travel offerings, appealing to travellers interested in the destination’s culture, heritage, and coastal charm. In late 2014, New Brunswick Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture looked to Bannikin for help on capturing new markets in North America; specifically the adventure travel niche in the United States. Bannikin was keen to get involved in organizing the province’s first-ever adventure travel FAM trip in 2015.

WHAT WE DID

With Bannikin’s reputation in the trade industry as the representatives of the most under-the-radar and unique adventure offerings worldwide, we successfully executed New Brunswick’s first-ever adventure travel FAM trip. Bannikin’s efforts included:

Working in a consultative role to curate a special interest-focused itinerary for the FAM using the province’s natural resources, such as marine wildlife viewing, hiking/walking, sea kayaking, cultural immersion, history, and more. We like to call this ‘experience design’.

Creating a target list based on trade partners with highest potential for interest in the destination, then performing all outreach with a tailored strategy.

Organizing end-to-end trade participation on FAM trip, including invitation design, guest list management, and itinerary development for 5 American tour operators and 1 member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association.

Sourcing Atlantic Canada specialist photographer for duration of the FAM, creating content to be used by trade partners in destination promotion

Providing guidance on post-FAM followup with participants

Creating customized post-FAM feedback form to solicit suggestions for improvement and perception of destination from participants

Providing New Brunswick with a report with participant feedback and our recommendations for best practices for successful experience design using their resources.

The Results

Increased DESTINATION PROFILE

Approximately 30 adventure travel tour operators across North America are now aware of and interested in potentially developing the New Brunswick, and have become one of the leading provinces in Canada in their involvement with the Adventure Travel Trade Association.

Partnerships

Following 2015 FAM, Country Walkers has officially announced one 2016 hiking departure and 4 for 2017. Several other participants in 2015/2016 have now listed and sold out scheduled departures to the region!

TRADE MARKET KNOWLEDGE

New Brunswick Tourism now has an understanding of adventure travel trade client needs and expectations, which will be put to use in continuing to attract this market.

We should chat.

We’re always on the lookout for clever companies who could use a little help. Give us a shout and let’s talk about how we can work together.